An Act To Strengthen the Maine Clean Election Act
Sec. 1. 21-A MRSA §1122, sub-§7, ¶B, as enacted by IB 1995, c. 1, §17, is amended to read:
Sec. 2. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§3, ¶A, as enacted by IB 1995, c. 1, §17, is amended to read:
Sec. 3. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2005, c. 301, §30, is further amended to read:
The commission or its executive director shall certify a candidate complying with the requirements of this section as a Maine Clean Election Act candidate as soon as possible and no later than 3 business days for legislative candidates and 5 business days for gubernatorial candidates after final submittal of qualifying contributions. The commission and its executive director may take additional time if further investigation is necessary to verify compliance with certification requirements, as long as the commission or its executive director notifies the affected candidate of the anticipated schedule to complete the investigation.
Upon certification, a candidate must transfer to the fund any unspent seed money contributions. A certified candidate must comply with all requirements of this Act after certification and throughout the primary and general election periods. Failure to do so is a violation of this chapter.
Sec. 4. 21-A MRSA §1125, sub-§5-A is enacted to read:
When the commission has reason to believe that a violation of this subsection has occurred, the commission shall provide written notice to the certified candidate and afford that candidate an opportunity for a hearing before the commission. The commission may revoke the certification of a candidate by a majority vote of the members of the commission. The participating candidate may appeal the decision of the commission as provided in subsection 15. A candidate whose certification is revoked by the commission must return all unspent funds to the commission within 3 days of the commission’s revocation decision or appeal the decision of the commission. The commission may require the candidate to reimburse other funds distributed by the commission. The candidate may appeal the commission's decision to revoke certification in the same manner provided in subsection 14, paragraph C.
Sec. 5. 21-A MRSA §1126, as enacted by IB 1995, c. 1, §17 and as amended by PL 2001, c. 465, §7, is further amended to read:
§ 1126. Commission to adopt rules
The commission shall adopt rules to ensure effective administration of this chapter. These rules must include but must not be limited to procedures for obtaining qualifying contributions, certification as a Maine Clean Election Act candidate, circumstances involving special elections, vacancies, recounts, withdrawals or replacements, collection of revenues for the fund, distribution of fund revenue to certified candidates, return of unspent fund disbursements, disposition of equipment purchased with clean election funds and compliance with the Maine Clean Election Act. Rules of the commission required by this section are major substantive rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter II-A.
summary
This bill amends the Maine Clean Election Act by increasing the number of qualifying contributions required of a gubernatorial candidate for certification from 2,500 to 3,250 and requiring that candidate to raise at least $15,000 in seed money. The bill amends the definition of a qualifying contribution to state that the $5 donation may be made to only one candidate seeking the gubernatorial election or one candidate in a particular legislative election. The bill extends the authority to certify candidates as Maine Clean Election Act candidates to the executive director of the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices. This bill adds to the requirements for certification and provides for circumstances under which the commission or its executive director may revoke certification of a Maine Clean Election Act candidate and require the return of Maine Clean Election Act funds. Finally, this bill removes language designating rules adopted under the Maine Clean Election Act as major substantive rules.